


Green

by AutisticMob



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Aromantic, Aromantic Alphonse Elric, Aromantic Author, Aromantic Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist), Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Alphonse Elric, Autistic Character, Bonding, Friendship, Gen, Male Friendship, Nobody is Dead, One Shot, Oneshot, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Self-Discovery, Stimming, Swearing, autistic author, father/son dynamic, non-human ideas about relationships and such, the T rating is because greed swears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 17:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20568308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticMob/pseuds/AutisticMob
Summary: Alphonse and Greed bond over being aromantic.





	Green

**Author's Note:**

> I'm arospec and REALLY tired of all the fics depicting all aros as ace. Whilst that's fine and valid, it's not always the case for actual real people, so I wrote this. Autistic + aro Alphonse bonding with his gremlin aro dad ftw

Alchemy is as simple as breathing to Alphonse Elric. It’s observable and makes sense from a scientific perspective, and that makes it ‘sensible’ to his autistic brain, eager and desperate to understand the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of every scrap of chemistry, math, and philosophy behind the path of alchemy that he and his brother had chosen to take.

Still, as bright as he is, there are plenty of things that make infinitely less sense. Time and time again, abstract constructs throw his brain for a loop, evading his grasp the moment he thinks he understands at last, slipping through his fingers like sand. 

“You said we’re the same,” Al says, pulling out bits of grass from the ground beside him, busying his hands with stimming as to keep him from spiraling into an anxiety-induced breakdown.

“We are,” Greed nods, folding his arms across his chest as he flashes a triumphant smile, his pointed teeth glinting in the light of the night’s low-hanging crescent moon. 

Al glances at him, sidelong and confused with eyebrows raised, “what did you mean?”

Greed shakes his head and keeps his gaze fixed on the swath of stars peppering the sky just above the horizon, glittering like the countless jewels in Ling’s palace. “Eh? I meant exactly what I said. You said you don’t understand love at all, right?”

“Right. I don’t...I mean, I guess I sort of understand. There’s different types of love, like love for objects or things or animals.”

Greed laughs, loud and dark and bordering on terrifying. “It’s the best kind, ‘cause it means you can get whatever you want. Nothin’ wrong with loving the material things in life. You humans treat it like some kind of vice, and that’s why you’re so unhappy.”

Al remains silent, drumming his fingers against the grass, enjoying the sensation. “I understand that, but...there’s also love for people, which I understand a whole lot less. What separates just being someone’s friend versus being in love with them?”

“Kid…” Greed pinches the bridge of his nose, “you can’t go askin’ me shit like that. Look, I’m convinced romance isn’t real. It’s just some dumb bullshit made up by humans, I’m sure of it.”

“I never understood it. I mean, I knew my dad and my mom loved each other, but I couldn’t see why it was any different than the way I love big brother or Winry, minus the stuff like kissing or whatever. I still don’t…”

Greed turns to glance at Al, who looks an awful lot like an abandoned puppy with the way he has his head in his hands. He almost feels sorry for the poor kid, freshly eighteen and navigating a foreign country alone. A strange urge to protect the pathetic creature washes over him like a disgusting wave of gross paternal feelings he wants nothing to do with. 

“I don’t understand romance at all. It’s...not really appealing. Maybe I’m just scared of committing to someone, I don’t know.” Al clutches his knees to his chest and stares down the hill at the lights of the city below the palace. A mischievous breeze combs its fingers through his dirty blonde hair, sending a chill through his entire body and into the depths of his bones.

“Hey. Romance isn’t everything, you know. It’s not for everyone. Like I said, I don’t have romantic feelings for anyone. Never have, never will.”

Al gives a small laugh, expression lightening, “I guess you don’t have time for that kind of thing, hm? It’s different for me, though...I’ve never had a crush on anyone. Even when my older brother and I were kids, I just really wanted to be Winry's friend. I felt the same way about her that I do about my brother. She was more like a sister to me, not a crush.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, kid,” Greed reassures, his tone having lost its usual abrasiveness, “‘cause there’s certainly nothing wrong with me, and we both feel the same way about romance.”

Al nods, echoing Greed’s sentiment. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”

Greed smirks, placing his hand atop Al’s head and ruffling his hair. “It’s totally okay to value your possessions in a non-romantic way,” he says.

Al can say for certain that he doesn’t see the people he loves as possessions, but despite Greed’s obvious confusion about the complex nature of human relationships, he has the spirit, and that’s what counts.

“You’re right. Thanks.”

“No problem, kid.”


End file.
